Success Story Archive

How different would this world be if girls, from a young age, channeled their energy, passion, and enthusiasm into creative projects that built up the community around them? What if these girls were encouraged to be individuals with valid ideas, rather than discouraged by peers and social norms? What if girls truly believed that they […]

“I am passionate about improving peoples’ lives through music.” Shelly Peterson knew she wanted to be a music therapist after graduating University of Northern Iowa with a degree in music. To make her dreams a reality, Shelly obtained a master’s degree in music therapy, became board certified, and started her own business from the ground […]

Allisyn Skiles’ goal was to create a spin-off of a nanny agency she had previously worked for in Des Moines, IA. When she moved to Cedar Rapids in February of 2014, she did just that. With safety of children and alleviating stress of parents at the forefront, Allisyn successfully opened Iowa Elite Nannies. Iowa Elite […]

Rina Jensen left her job as a New York Life Agent to pursue her true passion, photography. When a retail consignment shop named Domicile came up for sale in her community of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, she saw an opportunity. Rina had always intended to open a gallery, but this venue seemed like the perfect forum […]

Nearly three years ago, Sandra Hendred visited a frozen yogurt shop in St. Louis, Missouri and became inspired by the idea of opening a frozen desserts shop in her community of Ottumwa, Iowa. After sharing the idea with her husband, Jeff, they began visiting yogurt shops in Iowa City and Des Moines, then decided to […]

About six years ago, Danen Pool started developing a high pressure aeroponics unit as a hobby. Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil; high pressure aeroponics delivers nutrients using a high pressure diaphragm pump. In early 2014, Danen realized he had the potential to […]

PollUp.io began very simply; just three guys that wanted to create a cool software application. Kenyon Brown, Dave Leo, and Neil Saigal decided to develop a business-to-business tool that would “make work more enjoyable.” They started working on the app in October of 2015 and began developing a company business plan the following March. PollUp.io […]

Having spent several years working together in a corporate environment, Melissa Carlson and Rachel Abel found they had a great working relationship, similar work ethics, and professional goals. In 2013, the pair decided to carry their partnership on to the next level, forming a small graphic design business together, which they named 818. They intentionally […]

While teaching English in South Korea, Lesley Triplett grew to love the food sold by the local street vendors, especially their dumplings. Before she returned stateside, Lesley learned some of the basic tricks to dumpling making from a woman who operated her neighborhood dumpling stand. Upon returning to the United States, Lesley found she missed […]

As a Marine stationed in North Carolina, Aaron Serrano realized he and his comrades were not taking full advantage of all the discounts offered to military personnel. Local businesses were offering price reductions, but they weren’t working together to create a database of all the discounts that members of the military could easily reference. Additionally, […]